Deputies: Teens Killed Man

Beating Near Pompano Beach May Have Been Racially Motivated

A group of teen-agers punched, kicked and stomped a homeless man so severely that he died, the Broward Sheriff's Office said on Thursday.

Marshall Lewis, 40, was attacked by as many as 10 youths about 9:30 p.m. Monday in a neighborhood just west of Pompano Beach, said sheriff's spokesman Ott Cefkin.

Lewis died later that night of internal hemorrhaging as a result of a ruptured spleen and ruptured abdomen, said Debi Wilson, an investigator with the Broward Medical Examiner's Office.

Several young black men are being sought in connection with the attack on Lewis, who is white, Cefkin said. Witnesses told deputies that "racial slurs were uttered" by some of the attackers.

"Detectives are looking into the possibility that this murder may have been racially motivated," Cefkin said.

The attack, described by a 911 dispatcher as "a riot in progress," occurred in the 900 block of Northeast 54th Street, a predominantly black neighborhood.

Lt. John Casey, of Broward County Fire-Rescue, was among the first rescue workers to arrrive on the scene. Casey said he was told by deputies there that Lewis was attacked by up to 10 young black males, and that a motorist tried to stop the attack but the youths began throwing rocks at his car and threatening him until he sped away.

Detectives said they don't know what Lewis was doing in the neighborhood before the beating.

Deputies said Lewis was apparently homeless. He was originally from Shreveport, La.

Investigators declined to say whether robbery may have been a motive in the attack.

Lewis did have a small amount of money with him when he was found, said sheriff's homicide Detective John Palmer.

Palmer said Lewis did not have a wallet with him, but he would not say whether the victim was carrying one before he was attacked.

After the beating, Lewis managed to stagger a few blocks from the site of the attack to the 1200 block of Northeast 54th Street, where he collapsed and passed out, deputies said.

He was found there by deputies and paramedics after someone called 911 for help.

Lewis briefly regained consciousness while being taken to North Broward General Medical Center, where he died later that night. It is not known whether he was able to describe the attack or identify his attackers to investigators.

Anyone with information on the attack is asked to call Palmer at 321-4210 or Crime Stoppers at 493-TIPS.